Education

Out-of-work teachers in California would be able to collect unemployment benefits while training in high demand subject areas under a bill lawmakers are considering. The bills author says its designed to help the nearly 20-thousand unemployed teachers. Democratic Senator Noreen Evans authored the bill that she says would help unemployed teachers who want to get credentialed in science, math or special education. Under current law, if out-of-work teachers want that training, they lose their...

California State University and its faculty union have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract. Professors, counselors and other members of the California Faculty Association wont be getting raises. But if the state-funded university system somehow gets an influx of cash, theres an option to re-open salary talks. Claudia Keith is with C-S-U: Essentially, the tentative agreement calls for no salary increases for the first two years with the opportunities to re-open in the last...

Fresno Pacific University has a new leader for the first time in a decade. Dr. Pete Menjares officially became the universitys new president on Saturday at an event in Omaha. He replaces the retiring Dr. Merrill Ewert, who led the college for the past 10 years. He is the 11th president at the private, Mennonite affiliated Fresno based university since 1944. Menjares was hired earlier this year, and has spent the past two months in Fresno working with Ewert on the schools leadership transition...

Reduced enrollment or a mid-year tuition increase. Thats the choice the California State University could face if voters reject Governor Jerry Browns November tax measure. Youve heard of trigger cuts. Now, theres a trigger on a trigger a $150 per semester tuition increase to meet a potential 250 million dollar cut. Thats one proposal CSU Trustees are looking at. The other would reduce enrollment by three percent, or about 6-thousand students. Robert Turnage is with the CSU Chancellors office...

Earlier this Spring, the Fresno Unified School District established a community task force to provide the district with recommendations to help solve the districts dropout problems. FM89s Juanita Stevenson reports on how residents offered their input to the task force at a recent meeting.

New information emerged today on the alleged plot by three Fresno Unified students to poison their classroom teacher. Fresno Teachers Association President Greg Gadams told the media today the poising incident took place at Balderas Elementary School shortly before winter break. He said the students placed rat poison in their teachers coffee cup, and in the frosting of a cupcake given to the teacher. The teacher was unaware of the attempt, and never ate the cupcake. Sometime later the third...

There are 58,000 children in foster care in California and for many of them turning eighteen and aging out of care is overwhelming. Counties provide independent living programs to assist foster youth with this transition, but a different type of support is needed for those entering college. When former foster youth Kizzy Lopez was asked to help create a program at Fresno State to provide support for this incoming population, she made it happen. Since the Renaissance Scholars Program’s...

Last month, when California lawmakers passed a new state budget, they also passed a bill prohibiting local school districts from laying off teachers. Backers, including the California Teachers Association, say that the law protects students from class size increases and will save teacher jobs. School districts say it ties their hands, especially with the prospect of a midyear $1.5 billion funding cut if revenues fall short of projections. Host Juanita Stevenson reports on the story of one...